Bonjour!

About Me

I’m a 45 year old mother of five amazing daughters and wife to a caring, sensitive AND sexy husband. I adore my family. I’m dedicated to my faith. I enjoy a good laugh. I'm nostalgic and love to reminisce. "Remember" is my favorite word in the English language. I love life! I’m passionate about music, food and travel. I’m fascinated with anything European. {PARIS! Hello!} I love celebrating anything and everything! I love to read, especially a good biography, mystery, Regency Era or Historical fiction novel. I love thoughtful gift giving. To me the gift wrap is almost as important as the gift itself. I love being creative…bolts of ribbon, coordinating scrapbook papers, producing a tablescape, or décor for a themed party etc. puts a smile on my face. I love the details! I’m a freak for anything theme oriented. I enjoy event planning, but oddly enough do not like to host or entertain. I enjoy fashion, but have to be really in the mood to clothes shop. I love purses and funky jewelry. I’d rather wear wedges or heels any day than flats. I enjoy decorating and searching for the perfect decorative pillow or picture. However, you’ll never see me frequent high-end stores. I'm more of a Ross, TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning kind of gal. My favorite decor style is an old world rustic chateau look with a hint of bohemian, baroque and vintage shabby chic, like an English cottage. {confusing I know!} My #1 cookie-Molasses! Autumn is my favorite season. I’d go through childbirth a million times. I enjoy biking with my man, Pilates, and jogging. BUT you’ll never find me in a gym working out. I love movies, whether watching them in the theatre or cuddled up on the couch with my family. I enjoy a good chick flick or real life drama! I'm a sucker for movies on the Hallmark Channel. I love the elderly. I love Disneyland. I love being in the canyon on a summer or fall evening at dusk. I love my friends. While I have some extroverted characteristics. I’m a self proclaimed introvert. I’m generally quiet, calm, reserved and pretty darn private. Why in the heck do I blog? It’s a creative way to record family history. I enjoy photography. I really don’t like to write, although I write in my journal almost every day. I love the beach. I enjoy WWII history. I love a clean, orderly house, but ours looks lived in. ;) PBS Masterpiece is my friend. I adore Jane Austen films. They transport me to another time and place. If I had to choose another time period in which to live, early 19th Century England would be my pick. "Sense and Sensibility" is my all time favorite movie. My favorite TV series is the 1950's Spanish Drama "Velvet." My biggest pet peeve is people who blow their noses in public. So gross! {Take it to the bathroom people.} I’d go on a wine tasting vacation if it wasn’t against my religion. I’ve always wanted to adopt a baby from a foreign country. I’m an avid BYU football fan. I tutor elementary kids in phonics, reading, writing, comprehension and math. I love our campfires at Scofield Lake. I have a 'thing' for fairy gardens and Gallic French roosters. I love summer rainstorms and warm baths. I'm a Rush Limbaugh and Hannity Talk Radio Show listener. Also a fan of several Fox News shows. I hate when my kids have homework. I'd rather clean 20 toilets than give a talk or prayer in church. I collect quotes, Madame Alexander Dolls, children's books and Disney pins. I always prefer sitting in a back row versus the front. {I'm sort of a seat snob..yikes} I also have high expectations for my lemonade, salsa, and french fries too. HA! I work well behind the scenes. I love a good Dateline Mystery and the genealogy TV show "Who Do You Think You Are?" I’m a night owl. I'd rather be cold than hot. I enjoy being a chauffeur to my children. I’m an Anglophile… love anything English! I would like to serve a church mission to England with Jaren someday. I'm queen of paper towel, used kitchen hand towels and dishrags make me squirm. You’ll rarely find me out of the house not ready for the day, except when driving the kids to school on the days I don't work. I feel naked without lip gloss. Pairing up white socks, chipped fingernail polish, chapped lips and brownie crumbs on the floor drive me nuts! I like to organize and BE organized..but not saying I always am. ;) I enjoy hiking to waterfalls, ATV’ing with my family and snowshoeing with the hubs. Although I enjoy collecting recipes and occasionally watch cooking shows... (Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade, Paula Deen, and the Pioneer Woman are my favorites) I’d rather not cook. Eating out is so much more fun. I live to eat! LOL Trying new foods and restaurants is a favorite pasttime. I love the joy of anticipation and the celebration of holidays. Family traditions are important to me. I'm a memory preserver. I'm a pathological picture taker ;) and I love happy lists!

My Fam!

Mr. and I

My Girls!

Kyleigh Dawn (22)

Emma Abigail (20)

Hannah Isabelle (17)

Brielle Olivia (13)

Kate Evangelene Lyllie (7)

My Man!

Good Times!

Disneyland Tips

What I Believe!

Our Missionary

My list of favorite movies!

Learn more about Dyslexia!

Music To My Ears!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

What's On My Happy List?

SO I'm finally getting around to posting about pre Homecoming happenings...the actual event doesn't happen until this weekend!.....

I told you there had been some boy drama going on here...Hello. It's a doozy. Quite honestly I don't think I could explain half of it well enough for you to even follow. But I will try. You are getting the really really short version. Instead of naming the boys involved, for their privacy sake, I'll just number them boy #1, boy #2, boy#3, and boy#4...And they are in no particular order preference wise...just say'in...

It all started 3 weeks ago. {That would be a week before school even started} We had just gotten home from the Canyons and visiting grandma and grandpa when the door bell rang and this was on our porch.

Awe...so sweet! super sweet. Especially because Kyleigh loves One Direction so much. He and his helper {mutual friend Mercedes} used the lyrics from their hit song "What Makes You Beautiful"... "You light up my world like nobody else"...

They KNOW she loves the cookies from the Sweet Tooth Fairy. Like A LOT! He bought two to hold the number candles "one" and "seven" for his football number 17. She knew right off who it was. She was excited to be asked...Boy#1 is a great friend to her... but she was a wee bit surprised only because boy #1 is best friends with boy #4. Under the circumstances, and Kyleigh's history with boy #4 ....everyone {not just us}thought it was odd. We found out later that boy #1 didn't fully tell boy #4 of his intentions....hmmm.. Not that #4 was planning on asking her...but still...it caused a lot of questions and some un wanted drama at our house... For an added twist..Boy #1 is one of Kyleigh's best girlfriend's {pictured with Kyleigh below shoe shopping} old boyfriends.

So now to Boy #2 another good good friend....had heard at football practice that boy #1 was going to ask Kyleigh later in the week. So... #2 thought he'd beat boy #1 and ask her before he could. He'd been planning on asking her for practically a month. {He ended up being a night too late.} Instead boy #2 ended up asking previous girlfriend of boy#1 {girl mentioned above} who is going with him even though she has an official boyfriend who just graduated and is going on mission. She doesn't know that boy#2 tried to ask Kyleigh first. Are you with me?

As far as boy #3 goes, Kyleigh was number one on his list to ask to the dance and when he heard from the girl that was going to be assisting boy #1 in asking Kyleigh THAT very night... he was NOT happy and contemplated just coming to our doorstep and asking her to the dance before boy#1 could. Didn't happen but hilarious nonetheless...

So goodness me...this was just the tip of the ice-berg...drama ensued off and on for several weeks, especially when side issues were added by others in the friend group...we were on an emotional roller coaster that resulted in some late night mother daughter discussions... myself trying to be a listening ear and sound of reason.

Sometimes I feel like patting myself on the back...only because of my attempt at juggling my kids and their needs!... On one hand I'm dealing with dating, teenager, high school stuff and then I have to switch gears in an instant and go to the extreme opposite...toddler tantrums and poopy diapers. And then there is all the other in between. You'd get a kick at the mayhem of this place sometimes...

Approximately 1200 square feet of saran wrap is how we answered boy #1 back. His car happened to be at boy #4's house because we had him in on our scheme, along with his mom and sister. {So funny and even made funnier when Kyleigh's Homecoming dress is at boy#4's house being altered!}

Boy#1's dad was also in on it. Luckily Jaren happens to know him and could call him to get permission so that his boy could stay out til a later curfew. Even Aunt Dori was lending us saran wrap at 10:30 at night along with boy #4's mom. I tell you it takes a village to pull these shenanigans off. We were under a time crunch! So I was even over there busting my behiney wrapping the car...

We tried to tie in the British and One Direction stuff since that is how he asked her...Dad, luckily, is really creative coming up with cute sayings and slogans and stuff like that... So boy #1 was handed a paper that said...The British are all about protocol and doing what's proper. Let's see how well you follow this "one direction" {get it? haha}

He had to text "what is my one direction?" to a random cell number {which happened to be dad's} to get his next clue... {funny side note..boy#1's phone was dead so they had to use boy#4's phone}

After he texted to that particular number...Dad, pretending to be some British dude, texted "jolly good timing" and gave him instructions to go out to his car...which of course was saran wrapped to the hilt.....he had to unwrap, which apparently only took him less than 30 seconds, to get his next clue....

The note on the car said Hey #17 if you've gotten this far you might just have that "ONE THING" {that's a title of a One Direction song} but we don't "WANT YOU UP ALL NIGHT" {another One Direction song} so before you get my answer you need to go home and sleep on it.

Earlier Kyleigh and friends had gone to his house and put something on his bedroom pillow.

So when he got home there was a note on his pillow that said...

" So you know I love my British boys (and my ice cream too)..

{if you only knew Kyleigh and her ice cream..she always wants ice-cream and the boys know that}

but they just aren't blessed with a body like you!" haha {Okay that part.. is a total inside joke that boy#1 has going on and the girls know about it SO...we as parents.. are hoping HIS parents {who are in my parents ward} and his grandparents {who are in my ward, and friends with MY parents, didn't take that the wrong way. jeesh!}

it ended with....

Of course I'd love to go to the dance with a BIG HUNK like you!!! {she left a Big Hunk candy bar}

Kyleigh and half of the fam got to help Kyleigh's friend answer back her date for Homecoming...it was a Cinderella themed affair...him asking her with a pumpkin and tiara and talk of a carriage and glass slipper. So she dressed up as the Fairy Godmother and the neighbor boy was the footman who belted Here Ye Here Ye to the one and only Sir Austin.. There were seriously no less than eight people hiding in the bushes watching as Kyleigh had her "Bippity Boppity Boo" acting debut...The two moms were filming and boy #1 was in charge of working the bubble machine for Kyleigh's grand entrance.. Gosh we've had a little too much fun around here....

Friday Night Lights! Haven't been to a high school football game in more than 20 years....Forgot how fun they were! Kyleigh performed at halftime. It was the drill team's first performance of the year. They did awesome!! And no, that is not me screaming...that would be the assistant coach.